"My father died of prostate cancer in 2011 and he died a horrible death, in a lot of pain," Brandi Alexander, who has worked for Compassion and Choices for 11 years, said. "We need this because people are suffering. There comes a point when medicine cannot help everyone."

However others, such as Samantha Crane, an autism activist, fight alongside the NO DC Suicide coalition. That group also will testify Friday.

"If we know that many people can live for several years after a terminal diagnosis, how many more people could have lived for several years but weren't given the chance?" Crane said. "The disability community is strongly against this legislation as a whole."

After Maynard’s death, the California Senate, her home state, passed a right-to-die bill, according to NBC 7 San Diego. However, the bill is struggling to pass in the Assembly due to pressures from religious groups, WTOP reported.

However, the directive is only effective when the patient is too ill or hurt to express their personal wishes -- and you cannot request the right to die directly. You can only request that doctors honor your wishes regarding treatment such as dialysis, breathing machines, resuscitation if your breathing or heart beat stops, tube feeding, or organ and tissue donation.